Day: February 29, 2016

The good news is that it is not a brain tumour. The bad news is that a relatively common brain thing called DVA (developmental venous anomaly) has now started to cause problems in Stephen’s case. His seizure was caused by a small bleed in the area of one of these things. Apparently the iron in blood irritates the brain.
Unfortunately, it means that it could happen again and she is recommending anti seizure medication. Though she stressed that it is Stephen’s choice.

The DVA shows up as a sort of spidery object on the scans. There is some evidence of proteins around it, which indicate the bleed. The mass which was seen on the original scans appears to have completely disappeared. This has only reinforced the neurologists concerns about InSight, the company that did the scan. If it had been a clear scan she would have some idea of what it was.

Stephen will have a specialised MRI called a MRV (focusing on the veins) to see if he should take anti coagulant medication for the brain. This would help his heart problem too. Again, it would be up to him.

I suppose this is about photography and the march of technology. Things like DVAs are now being picked up through the more advanced scanning techniques. Previously it might have been impossible to know why Stephen had an epileptic seizure out of the blue.
He is banned from driving for a further six months starting today. He will see her again in about six weeks to make a decision about the medication.
Many people have DVAs and because they are present in the brain from before birth they usually just work as the normal drainage system of the brain. However, they are not necessarily efficient.

And what has happened is different to having a stroke.

We have spent the day trying to absorb the news. Stephen had an email from his sister about her health later in day which was worrying. I won’t talk about it here as it’s her business.

The featured imaged was taken on Friday night from South Perth when we were on the way home from Nedlands.